Book reviewer Edward Udd of Taylor & Francis Online wrote a short but glowing analysis of Stagg vs. Yost: The Birth of Cutthroat Football. In a review posted in November 2017 Udd said Stagg vs. Yost "is a furiously paced book that starts with outrage and indignation and ends with outrage and indignation. In between is a book that is scrupulously researched and documents a time period in American football that is little known and, after reading this book, you will likely agree that what little you knew was wrong. Worth the read right there."
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14927713.2017.1399566?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=rloi20
Tuesday 7 August 2018
Monday 4 July 2016
Stagg vs. Yost among Sports Biblio's Top 15 football books of 2015
The sports book website Sports Biblio ranked Stagg vs. Yost: The Birth of Cutthroat Football among the Top 15 about American football in 2015:
http://www.sportsbiblio.com/sports-biblios-list-of-notable-football-books-for-2015/
Writer Wendy Parker said she narrowed down "a long selection of American football books for this post," but included author John Kryk's latest work among the year's best, concluding:
"If you think college football today is awash in greed, corruption and a win-at-all-costs ethos, this book is a useful reminder that those things are nearly as old as the sport itself."
http://www.sportsbiblio.com/sports-biblios-list-of-notable-football-books-for-2015/
Writer Wendy Parker said she narrowed down "a long selection of American football books for this post," but included author John Kryk's latest work among the year's best, concluding:
"If you think college football today is awash in greed, corruption and a win-at-all-costs ethos, this book is a useful reminder that those things are nearly as old as the sport itself."
Sports in American History recommends 'enlightening, accessible' Stagg vs. Yost: 'a solid example of primary source research'
Scholar Michael T. Wood offers a hearty recommendation of Stagg vs. Yost: The Birth of Cutthroat Football in his review for the group blog Sport in American History:
https://ussporthistory.com/2016/01/31/review-of-stagg-vs-yost/
A doctoral candidate in the Department of History and Geography at Texas Christian University, Wood writes that he "would recommend Stagg vs. Yost to both a scholarly and general audience. It serves as a solid example of primary source research and is an enlightening, accessible account of the personalities and contradictions in early college football history."
The book was released last summer. Numerous scholars have praised author John Kryk's second book on college football history.
Wood writes that Kryk offers "a revisionist history of Stagg, consistent with Robin Lester’s Stagg’s University (1995) and counter to the popular image of Stagg as an 'all-American paragon of virtue.' Stagg v. Yost also offers an argument for greater consideration of Yost’s achievements and his place in college football history.
Beyond the Yost-Stagg contrasts and illuminations, Wood says that "Kryk rightly describes both the violence and brutality of the game and the search for order that began in the 1890s, with the founding of regional conferences. As members of the Big Nine, representatives from the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan often squabbled over scheduling, eligibility requirements, and rule changes. Here, Kryk challenges Stagg’s pristine image, arguing that it was a calculated façade that hid his true win-at-all-costs behavior. He also exposes the University of Michigan’s “loan” scheme that existed from the 1890s to the 1920s whereby instead of payments, administrators and alumni would lend athletes money to defray the cost of attendance."
Wood furthermore writes that Kryk "provides engaging narratives" of each season from 1901 to 1905, "correctly marks" 1905 as an epochal year in football, "successfully supports Lester’s depiction of Stagg as not just college football’s 'Grand Old Man' but as a calculating, hypercompetitive coach willing to compromise amateur ideals in order to win, [and] also provides a strong argument for Yost to be considered alongside Stagg, Glenn “Pop” Warner, John Heisman, and Knute Rockne as the best coaches in early college football history."
What's more, Wood writes that even beyond Kryk's "intended focus, the amount of turnover year-to-year on college rosters and the competition among teams for current players were particularly interesting. With eastern schools raiding western teams and western teams raiding smaller schools, I gained an increased appreciation for just how 'cutthroat' college football was at the time."
https://ussporthistory.com/2016/01/31/review-of-stagg-vs-yost/
A doctoral candidate in the Department of History and Geography at Texas Christian University, Wood writes that he "would recommend Stagg vs. Yost to both a scholarly and general audience. It serves as a solid example of primary source research and is an enlightening, accessible account of the personalities and contradictions in early college football history."
The book was released last summer. Numerous scholars have praised author John Kryk's second book on college football history.
Wood writes that Kryk offers "a revisionist history of Stagg, consistent with Robin Lester’s Stagg’s University (1995) and counter to the popular image of Stagg as an 'all-American paragon of virtue.' Stagg v. Yost also offers an argument for greater consideration of Yost’s achievements and his place in college football history.
Beyond the Yost-Stagg contrasts and illuminations, Wood says that "Kryk rightly describes both the violence and brutality of the game and the search for order that began in the 1890s, with the founding of regional conferences. As members of the Big Nine, representatives from the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan often squabbled over scheduling, eligibility requirements, and rule changes. Here, Kryk challenges Stagg’s pristine image, arguing that it was a calculated façade that hid his true win-at-all-costs behavior. He also exposes the University of Michigan’s “loan” scheme that existed from the 1890s to the 1920s whereby instead of payments, administrators and alumni would lend athletes money to defray the cost of attendance."
Wood furthermore writes that Kryk "provides engaging narratives" of each season from 1901 to 1905, "correctly marks" 1905 as an epochal year in football, "successfully supports Lester’s depiction of Stagg as not just college football’s 'Grand Old Man' but as a calculating, hypercompetitive coach willing to compromise amateur ideals in order to win, [and] also provides a strong argument for Yost to be considered alongside Stagg, Glenn “Pop” Warner, John Heisman, and Knute Rockne as the best coaches in early college football history."
What's more, Wood writes that even beyond Kryk's "intended focus, the amount of turnover year-to-year on college rosters and the competition among teams for current players were particularly interesting. With eastern schools raiding western teams and western teams raiding smaller schools, I gained an increased appreciation for just how 'cutthroat' college football was at the time."
Journal of Sport History: Stagg vs. Yost 'adds to our knowledge' of sports history
In the Spring 2016 issue of the Journal of Sport History (Volume 43, Number 1), Gerald R. Gems reviews Stagg. vs. Yost: The Birth of Cutthroat Football:
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/619842
A professor of health and physical education at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., Gems says author John Kryk's work is "a worthwhile effort, with very noticeable research that covered several years in primary archival sources as well as secondary works and newspaper collections."
While Gems's assessment is that Kryk's "sentiments clearly lie with Yost and Michigan," Gems points out that Kryk's book "is not a hagiography.
"Kryk is intent on dismantling the stellar reputation enjoyed by Stagg, offering plenty of evidence that he was not the morally upright saint of amateurism that he and many historians have portrayed. In this respect, the book offers a good supplement to Robin Lester's seminal work, Stagg's University, a North American Society for Sport History book award winner.
"The final chapter offers helpful biographical sketches of players and principal characters, and the numerous photos and illustrations from the era add to the context. The presentation and discussion of the primary source materials shed light on the internecine quarrels of the athletic administrations, adding to our knowledge of the sporting past and its continuing influence on current events."
Friday 27 November 2015
Mike Mayock: Stagg vs. Yost a 'highly revealing & entertaining' read
Stagg vs. Yost: The Birth of Cutthroat Football is a "highly revealing and entertaining read," according to long-time NFL Network analyst and commentator Mike Mayock.
"I can't imagine the number of hours of research John Kryk put into writing Stagg vs. Yost -- really impressive," Mayock says. "I particularly enjoyed the direct irony of 'What goes around, comes around' in college football. Recruiting and cheating scandals? Tempo offense? Are we talking 1905 or 2015?
"Highly revealing and entertaining."
Kryk's book from Rowman & Littlefield went on sale in July. Mayock's is the latest enthusiastic endorsement from football experts, journalists and literary critics alike. See other posts here at staggvsyost.blogspot.ca for those.
To purchase Stagg vs. Yost at a special 25% discount, go to Rowman.com, type "Stagg vs. Yost" in the search engine, click on this title, click to check out, create an account, then at checkout use the following promo code: 7A3AUTHF
"I can't imagine the number of hours of research John Kryk put into writing Stagg vs. Yost -- really impressive," Mayock says. "I particularly enjoyed the direct irony of 'What goes around, comes around' in college football. Recruiting and cheating scandals? Tempo offense? Are we talking 1905 or 2015?
"Highly revealing and entertaining."
Kryk's book from Rowman & Littlefield went on sale in July. Mayock's is the latest enthusiastic endorsement from football experts, journalists and literary critics alike. See other posts here at staggvsyost.blogspot.ca for those.
To purchase Stagg vs. Yost at a special 25% discount, go to Rowman.com, type "Stagg vs. Yost" in the search engine, click on this title, click to check out, create an account, then at checkout use the following promo code: 7A3AUTHF
Wednesday 21 October 2015
Gridiron Greats recommends Stagg vs. Yost 'for any football library'
Gridiron Greats: The Digest of North American Football & Its Memorabilia is the latest periodical to praise Stagg vs. Yost: The Birth of Cutthroat Football.
In its Fall 2015 edition (Vol. 14, No. 50) the magazine recommends Stagg vs. Yost "for any football library."
The book's author, John Kryk, "has developed an interesting comparison and review" of the principal coaches, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Fielding H. Yost, according to Gridiron Greats.
"Stagg may be viewed in a much different light after reading this book, while one may embrace more fully Yost and his impressive offense schemes," the reviewer states. "This is a well researched and interesting book that looks at Stagg's career more closely, and embraces what I have always felt was the overlooked career of Yost."
Stagg vs. Yost went on sale in July. For more on Gridiron Greats magazine, click here.
In its Fall 2015 edition (Vol. 14, No. 50) the magazine recommends Stagg vs. Yost "for any football library."
The book's author, John Kryk, "has developed an interesting comparison and review" of the principal coaches, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Fielding H. Yost, according to Gridiron Greats.
"Stagg may be viewed in a much different light after reading this book, while one may embrace more fully Yost and his impressive offense schemes," the reviewer states. "This is a well researched and interesting book that looks at Stagg's career more closely, and embraces what I have always felt was the overlooked career of Yost."
Stagg vs. Yost went on sale in July. For more on Gridiron Greats magazine, click here.
Tuesday 15 September 2015
Christian Science Monitor weighs in
The Christian Science Monitor includes Stagg vs. Yost in a feature promoting eight new football books.
"Anybody who assumes that friendly rivalries characterized college football in the early 1900s only has to read Stagg vs. Yost to revise their perceptions," writes the story's author, Ross Atkin. "John Kryk paints the period as one in which corruption, under-the-table payments, and overzealous boosters were beginning to sully the sport's image."
Atkins concludes that Stagg vs. Yost is "a case study in how two prominent coaches pushed the boundaries."
For the full Christian Science Monitor passage, click here.
"Anybody who assumes that friendly rivalries characterized college football in the early 1900s only has to read Stagg vs. Yost to revise their perceptions," writes the story's author, Ross Atkin. "John Kryk paints the period as one in which corruption, under-the-table payments, and overzealous boosters were beginning to sully the sport's image."
Atkins concludes that Stagg vs. Yost is "a case study in how two prominent coaches pushed the boundaries."
For the full Christian Science Monitor passage, click here.
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